Page:Atlas of the World Battle Fronts in Semimonthly Phases to August 15, 1945.pdf/6



By 1 July 1943, the beginning of the period covered by this report, the German and Japanese plans of aggression had been shattered. Our plan of action had been resolved into two great efforts—one in Europe against Germany, the other in the opposite hemi­sphere against Japan. The map series in this volume show the war fronts within these two major theaters up to the conclusion of the fighting.

Simultaneous situations within the two vast areas of global war are shown on fac­ing pages, these regions being presented with reference to the United States, that is, Europe on the right and the Pacific on the left. The half-month period covered by suc­cessive maps is sufficiently short to retain the effect of animation in our advances and permit treatment of the major campaigns in some detail.

Many of the major achievements of the Allied forces in the war cannot adequately be represented on such maps. Nevertheless they do vividly portray how quickly vast areas of the earth's surface were progressively and systematically wrested from the enemy's control by the concerted action of the Allied ground, air, naval and supply forces.

In the presentation, principal Allied gains for a semi-monthly period are shown in deep red, while areas under Allied control are shown in lighter tint. Enemy-controlled territory appears white, while enemy gains during the period are shown in black. Neutral countries are colored gray. In the Pacific, water routes between widely sepa­rated land masses furnished the key to the significance of territorial gains; to emphasize this important characteristic, ocean areas in the wake of our advance have been repre­sented as zones of Allied control.

The inclusion of all fronts has necessitated reference to incomplete reports for information on some areas, particularly those not under American or British command. It is believed that any errors which may exist are relatively minor.